Combination lock



Aug. 28, 1934. s N, HOPE ET AL 1,971,935

COMBINATION LOCK Filed Sept. 19, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a izmvenzzrs.

Patented Aug. 28, 1934 pairs STATES Q B TIQN LOCK Samuel N. Hope, Wauwatosa, andPaul 'FrDrath, West Allis, Wis, assignors to Dudley Lock Cor-' poration, Chicago, 111.,

a corporation of Illinois i Application September 19,1931 Serial No. 563,684

. 9 Claims.

This invention is concerned with a keyless type of lock suitable for avariety of uses but illustrated as designed for application to the door of a steel locker or the like. The invention relates vg; particularly to features of the mechanism by which the tumbler disks which are set in a certain arrangement to release the bolt Will be automatically shifted from that setting by the return of the bolt to its locking position, and it is an object of the invention to accomplish this by utilizing, so far as possible, certain parts of the mechanism already present in it for other purposes so as to require a minimum of special parts for this function. The invention includes certain other fea tures which will appear as the description proceeds, and it consists in these various features and elements in combination as shown in the drawings and hereinafter described, and as indicated by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan .view showing the interior of the casing with most of the mechanism removed but with the actuator and detent pawl for the tumbler-upsetting mechanism shown in 25 position.

Figure. 2 is a similar plan view of the casing with certain additional elements in position, including the bolt itself.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing the same parts as Figure 2, but with the bolt in retracted position.

' Figure 4 is also a plan view with the bolt-in the same position as in Figure 2, but including also the tumbler disks constituting the combination of the lock.

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken as indicated at line 5-5 on Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a transverse section through the lock, taken substantially at right angles to that of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of a locker door and the cooperating frame member, with'a lock embodying this invention installed thereon.

Figure 8 is a detail section taken as indicated at line 88 on Figure '7. V

Figure}? is a detail perspective view ofa detent. Figure 10 is a detail perspective viewof an actuator member.

Figure 11 is a detail perspective View member.

An understanding of the operation of this lock maybe best gained from the considerationuof its several fparts. Figure 1 shows the rectangular casing, l; with the cover-plate removed, and with most of theelementsof the mechanism removed,

of a bolt leaving only an actuator member-in the form of an irregular plate, 2, pivotally carried upon an upstanding stud or post, 3, .at the center of the casing, and a detent pawl, 4, pivoted upon a second post, 5, also secured in the back or .bottom wall of the casing, Land extending parallel to the post, 3. 'Figure2 shows an additional .element, namely, the bolt member having a pro.- trudi-ng portion, 6, which serves as the bolt proper and which,-.as-.may be seen in Figurell, is composed :ofitwo similarplate-like parts, 6* and 6 secured in spaced relation with one .or more filler members, 7, interposed. The part, 6 is an extension of an arm, :8, and the-part, 6 extends similarly from a plate, 9. As seen in Figure -2, the plate, :9, is superimposed directly upon the actuator, 2, with the post, 3, extending through 'an'arcu'ate slot, 10, in said plate. Apertures, 8 and 19 engage the pivot post, 5, to support the bolt in the casing, 1, for swinging movement from its operative or. looking position illustrated in Figure 2 to its retracted or unlocking position,

as shown in Figure 3.

The 'diange, 1 of the casing is Iormed with asuitable rectangular opening, 1*, through which :the bolt 6, protrudes in its locking position, and at the junction between the parts, 8 and 9, and :theportions, 6 and 6 of the bolt-respectively, the sheet inetalof which these parts are iormed is ofiset to provide shoulders, 6, which abut against the inner face of the wall or flange, 1*, to limit the protrusion of the bolt, 6, through the opening, 1 and thus limit the swing of the bolt member about the pivot post, 5. The bolt ,member is urged toward this locking position :by

means of afiat spring member, '1 1, having. one end :fixed'to the :levr arm, 8, -and having its free end bearing-against the casing wall, 1, which is that oppositeethe-opening,1 i I I-n the'assembIyo'fthe locka series of notched tumbler disks, which are shown as three in number, 12 13 and 14, are-rotatively carried upon the 'post,- 3, with a short compression spring, 15, and its-washers, 16, interposed between the disk, 12, and the plate, 9, of the bolt member. The disks are preferably separated by. spacer washers, 1-7, and, desired, one of these washers may be mounted ,against theouterflor upper face of the :tumbler, 1. 1. Each of the tumblers is-formed with a single deep notch, such as the notch, l4, seen .in Figure 4, so that when the notches of all the tumblers are registered opposite the tooth or pawl, 18,,of the bolt tmember, said ,member may be swung about its pivotpost, 5, into the retracted 'orunlockingposition shown in Figure 3, but-uniio I And less said notches are thus registered the swing of the bolt away from its locking position is blocked by the peripheries of one or more of the tumbler disks. An actuating knob, 20, projects through the casing wall and is operatively engaged with the tumbler, 14. As shown, said tumbler has one or more studs, 21, projecting into recesses in the inner end of the knob shaft, for such operative engagement; and each of the tumblers is engaged with the next by contact of similar studs, 22, which project from the opposing faces of the tumbler disks, as seen in Figure 6. The compression spring, 15, maintains frictional contact between the disks and their interposed spacers,

17, so that no rotation is transmitted from one disk to the next except through engagement of the studs. A suitably graduated dial, 23, rotates with the knob, 20, in relation to an index mark on an escutcheon plate, 24, for indicating the proper angular rotation required for setting up the combination,--that is, for setting the disks successively in position for registration of their notches with the tooth, 18, of the bolt.

The bolt, 6, is of the form having a curved outer face, 6 and a straight surface, 6 extending substantially at right angles 'to' the wall, l of the casing, and in almost radial relation to the pivot post, 5, so that pressure against this latter face, 6, tends to swing the bolt toward its unlocking position. As shown in Figure '7, the lock casing, 1,

.is mounted on the inner face of a door, 30, and

in the particular construction shown the immediate function of the bolt, 6, is to prevent upward movement of a lug, 31, which extends in contact with the face, S of the bolt when the door is locked. This lug is the terminal portion of an arm, 32, attached to a vertically slidable locking bar, 33, carried by the door, and having horizcntally projecting portions, 34, which engage in notches, 35, of angularly bent clips, 36, attached to the door jam or frame member, 37, of the locker. cured to the arm, 32, as at 38, and may be understood as projecting through a slot in the door for access at its outer side. Thus when the series of tumbler disks constituting the combination of the lock has been properly set by means of the knob, 20, the handle at 38 may be lifted to free the projections, 34, from thenotches, 35, and this motion will swing the bolt, 6, to its releasing position illustrated in Figure 3. While the door is v33, is upheld at the upper limit of its movement by the engagement of'a spring detent, 39, in the notches, 40, formed in the edge of the bar, as shown in Figure 8. When the door is again closed the edge, 41, of the clip, 36, forces the detent, 39, out of engagement with the notch, 40, thus permitting the bar, 33, to fall into locking position.

With the fall of the bar, 33, the lug, 31, moves downwardly and permits the bolt, 6, to swing back to its locking position, as shown in Figure 2. Such movement is insured by the pressure of the spring, 11, and in addition to carrying the bolt into its protruding locking position it eifects the upsetting of the arrangement of the tumbler disks sufiiciently to carry their notches out of registration with the pawl or tooth, 18. This is accomplished by forming an aperture 17?", in a tail-piece, 17 on each of the spacers, forengaging an upstanding lug, 2 of the actuator plate, 2, pivoted on the post, 3, in the bot- Any suitable handle member may be se-' tom of the lock casing, 1. A down-turned lug, 9 on the plate, 9, of the bolt member engages a tail-piece, 2 of the actuator plate, 2, so that when the bolt member, 6, is swung to release position, as shown in Figure 3, the plate, 2, is rotated through a corresponding angle, the lug, 9 first pushing against the edge of the tailpiece, 2 and then sliding along it cam-wise because the two parts swing about different pivots, 5 and 3, respectively. This rotation of the plate, 2, swings the spacer, 17, about the axis of the post, 3, the tumbler disks, 12, 13 and 14, being anchored against rotation by engagement of the tooth, 18, on the bolt member which enters their notches, 14 in the initial movement of the bolt. When the bolt, 6, is allowed to return to locking position, as already described, a spring, 45, which may be conveniently anchored to the arm, 8, at the same point as the spring, 11, presses against a lug, 2 of the plate, 2, and rotates said plate back to its initial position, carrying with it the spacers, 17; this action, however, is delayed by virtue of the detent pawl, 4, engaging one of the teeth, 2, of the plate, 2,

and holding the plate against such return rotaticn until the shoulder, 9 of the bolt member, 9, strikes the upstanding lug, 4 of the detent and releases it from the tooth of the plate, 2. This'occurs almost at the limit of movement of the bolt, 6, to its final locking position when the tooth, 18, has been withdrawn from the notches of the tumbler disks; therefore, the quick rotation of the spacers, 17, with the plate,

2, under pressure of the spring, 45, serves to carry with the spacers, 17, the disks, 12, 13 and 14, through substantially the same angle by reason of the frictional engagement between the spacers and said disks, thus shifting the notches of the disks out of registration with the tooth, 18, and upsetting the tumbler combination. By reason of the play or lost motion in the connections between successive disks and the operating knob, 20, it will be evident that the combination can only be restored in the regular way by rotating the knob through measured angles, first one way and then the other, until the notches of the tumbler disks are again brought into registration with each other and with the tooth, 18.

This it will be seen that when the locker door is opened and: the locking bar automatically up? held by the detent, 39, the bolt, 6, will be held at its retracted position, but instantly upon closing of the door and consequent release of the locking bar, 33, the bolt, 6, will not only be returned to locking position but will be actually looked in this position by the automatic upsetting of the tumbler combination. And since spacer washers are normally provided between the disks of a combination lock of this type we have accomplished this automatic upsetting of the combination by adding only the actuator plate, 2, and its detent pawl, 4, to the parts normally required; consequently this feature is provided at practically no increase in cost.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the knob, 20, is constructed as a unitary part of the casting which forms the dial 23. A spindle member, 20 is journaled on the pivot stud, 3, and is formed at its inner end with one or more depressions or recesses to engage the driving pin, 21, of the uppermost tumbler, 14. This inner end ofthe spindle member is also formed with a flange, '20", by which it is retained within the casing. The spindle projects through the. cover plate of the casing and through the 'wall or panel, 30, which in the present instance may be understood as the door of the locker, and at its outer end the spindle is grooved or fluted so that its cross section is non-circular and the side walls of the cavity, 20, in the knob, 20, are correspondingly shaped to inter-member with the grooves of the spindle to provide a driving connection between the knob and the spindle.

The parts are thus adapted for telescopic ongagement with a considerable range to accommodate various thicknesses of wall or panel upon which the lock device may be mounted. The dial flange, 23, has its marginal portion engaged under the margin of an opening in the escutcheon plate, 24, in the usual manner. And if the noncircular features by which the spindle, 20 and the knob, 20, are connected be symmetrically arranged about the axis, as for example, if they consist in a plurality of grooves or flutings at equal angular intervals in the spindle with inter-membering lugs or teeth projecting from the walls of the cavity, 20, the combination of the lock may be readily altered by loosening the escutcheon plate, 24, and shifting the unitary dial and knob to a new position on the spindle, 20

In order to insure free rotation of the dial, 23, and avoid any possible binding by the overlapping margin of the escutcheon plate, 24, a flanged disk, 50, is centered on the projecting sleeve, 51, of the casing cover by means of an inturned flange, 50 This disk is disposed between the wall or panel, 30, and the escutcheon plate with a peripheral spacing flange, 5'0 thus holding the escutcheon plate in definitely spaced relation to the panel, leaving suflicient clearance for free movement of the underlapping edge of the dial, 23. The telescopic engagement of the sleeve, 51, and the flange, 50 provides for a considerable range of thickness in the panel, 30, corresponding to the range provided for in the-telescopic engagement of the knob, 20, and the spindle, 20*.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and re-arrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, and that the same is not limited to the particular form herein shown and described, except in so far as indicated by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of turnbler disks co-axially arranged for normally retaining the bolt in looking position but rotatively adjustable in combination to permit movement of the bolt to unlocked position, and tumbler disarranging means mounted co-axlally with and frictionally engaging the tumblers, said means being engageable and rotatable by the bolt dur-- ing its unlocking movement, and'movable inde pendently of the bolt incident to return movement of the bolt to locking position forffrictionally rotating the tumblers out or" combination.

2. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of co-axially arranged tumbler disks adjustable in combination to permit movement of the bolt to unlocked position, an actuator, means carried thereby in frictional engagement with the tumblers, the bolt and actuator being mounted for relative movement and having abutments formed and arranged on the bolt and actuator respec 5i tively for cooperating by mutual encounter in .moves to locking position and releasing the tumtheunlocking movement'of the bolt fo'rcom municating said movement to the actuator, said actuator being adapted for return movement during return movement of the bolt to lockingposition,'whereby said meanson the actuator is caused to frictionally engage the tumblers for shifting them out of combination.

3. In the combination defined in claim '2, spring meansuior the actuator arranged to cause said return movement thereof during the final portion of the return of the bolt to its locking posi tion.i

4. In thejcombination definedi'n claim 2, means for causing saidreturn movementof the actuato-r, and a detent for the actuator opposing said means arranged to be released by the bolt during its final portion of return movement.

5. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of co-axially arranged tumbler disks adjustable in combination to permit movement of the bolt to unlocked position, an actuator rotatable co-axially with the tumblers, means carried by the actuator in frictional engagement with said tumblers, said actuator being engageable by the bolt for rotation in one direction when the bolt moves toward its unlocked position, and means rendered operative by such rotation of the actuator for returning said actuator when the bolt returns to locking position, such movement of the actuator causing said frictional means to rotate one or more of the tumbler disks out of combination.

6. In a lock comprising a bolt and a series of coaxially arranged tumbler disks adjustable in combination to control movement of the bolt, 1'10 spacersinterposed between said disks in frictional engagement therewith, an actuator connected with the spacers and movable to shift them for rotating the tumblers by said frictional engagement, said bolt and actuator being mumally engageable for movement of the latter by movement ofthe former toward its unlocked position, and the actuator being adapted to perform a return movement by which it rotates said tumblers for upsetting their combinations.

7. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of coaxially arranged tumbler disks adjustable in combination to permit movement of the bolt to unlocked position, an actuator, means carried thereby in frictional engagement with the tumlers, said bolt and actuator being mutually engageable for movement of the latter by movement of the former toward its unlocked position, said bolt including means positively engaging the tumblers during its said movement and holding the tumblers in adjusted position, and energy-storing means conditioned by the movement of the bolt to unlocking position and arranged to be rendered operative when the bolt 1 blers by said positively engaging means for re- 85 turning said actuator and causing the frictional means to. rotate said tumbler disks out of combination. v

8. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of coaxially arranged notched tumbler disks adjustable with their notches in registration, said bolt having a part engageable in said notches by the movement of the bolt to unlocked position, an

actuator and means carried thereby in frictiona1 engagement with the tumblers, said bolt and actuator being mutually engageable for movement of the latter by the movement of the former toward said unlocked position, said frictionv ally engaging means being slidable upon the m a tumblers during such movement of the actuator,

the notch engaging means of the bolt being disengageable from the tumblers in the final portion of the movement of the bolt to locking P01- sition, and the actuator being adapted to perform a return movement during said final portion of the bolt movement for frictionally shifting the tumbler disks to upset their combination.

9. In a lock comprising a bolt and a set of coaxially arranged notched tumbler disks adjustable with their notches in registration, said bolt having a part engageable in said'notches by the movement of the bolt to unlocked position, an

actuator, means carried thereby in frictional en- SAMUEL N. HOPEL. PAUL F. DEATH. 

